The first newsletter of 2016 is dedicated to India. IRU has established a High Level Group of leading public and private stakeholders that work together towards clean, safe and affordable collective transport mobility in India. The rapid population growth in the country came with a great number of motor vehicles in the streets causing traffic jam, accidents and pollution. With its growing population and expanding urban areas, it is essential that the best that bus and coach has to offer is shared and highlighted. In this newsletter, you will find some of the latest developments in the Indian bus and coach market. Enjoy the read.

Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has planned to install electronic ticketing machines in 200 buses by the end of January. The state bus agency manages a fleet of 4.500 buses and it intends to have all its buses equipped with ETMs by the middle of this year.

The Indian government’s decision to skip Euro V emissions standards and go straight to Euro VI emissions standards represents a big step towards reducing toxicity and public health risks in the country. The fact that refineries agreed to supply Euro VI-compliant fuel by 2020 made this decision possible. It is now up to vehicle manufacturers to also plan and implement the necessary changes.

The lithium-ion-powered buses received by the Indian Parliament from the Road transport ministry are the first prototype developed by KPIT Technologies, Pune, working together with the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT). The “Go Green” bus has been converted from diesel to electric and the technology was entirely developed in India.

In its paper “Low-Carbon Mobility for Mega cities – What Different Policies Mean for Urban Transport in China and India”, the International Transport Forum (ITF) presents three different types of policy scenarios and their expected impact on reducing CO2 emissions in ten cities of two of the most polluted countries in the world: India and China.

Delhi traffic police, in association with Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, organised last year a road safety summer camp for children aimed at raising their awareness on the importance of respecting traffic rules.

The number of people losing their lives on the Indian roads is alarming. Indian Ministry of Road Transport & Highways Statistics shows that in 2014, nearly 500.000 persons were injured and 140.000 people got killed in road accidents. The analysis of the data showed that about 56 accidents take place every hour in the country and driver’s fault (78.8%) was found the single most important factor causing road accidents. Even more alarming is the fact that 53.8% of the victims are young people aged between 15 and 34 years.

Holding the internationally accepted benchmark for quality in trade fairs and exhibitions UFI Approved Event Certificate, BUSWORLD TURKEY was held for the 5th time in 2014, featuring 248 companies of which 170 were local and 78 were from abroad that came from 26 different countries..